


Never a Burden (to Shoulder)

by Reioka



Series: AUgust 2020 [4]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU-gust 2020, Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Angel Tony Stark, Demon Bucky Barnes, Demon Sam Wilson, Humor, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26504374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reioka/pseuds/Reioka
Summary: Sam is waiting on a new Shoulder Angel to be assigned to him. Tony takes up the spot until they can find a long-term replacement.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark/Sam Wilson
Series: AUgust 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860847
Comments: 18
Kudos: 260





	Never a Burden (to Shoulder)

**Author's Note:**

> This universe I built was so fun that I think at this point I have to come back to it.

Never a Burden (to Shoulder)

“So you’re finding out who your new heavenly partner is today, right?” Bucky asked, not looking up from his bowl of cereal.

Sam stabbed at his bagel, scowling. “Yeah.” Ever since Steve had transferred out of Shouldering, he’d been put on leave until he could be paired with a new angel.

It had been annoying, watching Bucky go off to work, so he was glad he was coming off leave. He hated having nothing to do, and he especially hated that there was nothing he could do to speed up the process. He didn’t begrudge Steve his promotion—he had wanted to go into being a Guardian for centuries, after all—but he hated that he’d have to get used to another person. He’d had Riley as a partner first, and they’d gotten along splendidly, but one day he’d disappeared, and Heaven was tight-lipped about those kinds of things, but even he could tell that something bad had happened. He wished he’d gotten a chance to say goodbye.

After Riley, he’d been assigned to work with Steve. They’d butted heads a few times in the beginning, but once they’d gotten past the typical Heaven and Hell politics, they’d become fast friends. And Steve had always talked about becoming a Guardian angel, had wanted it with every ounce of his being, so he hadn’t been surprised that Steve had eventually gotten the promotion. Sam was happy for him, honestly, because he’d gotten to know Steve really well, and he deserved it! He’d make a good Guardian. And Steve had said he’d put in a good word to make sure he was partnered well.

He just… wasn’t in the mood to learn how to work with someone new when his two previous partners had been so good, as petty as it was.

“Being a house-husband is still an option,” Bucky said after a moment, and it made Sam realize he’d totally mutilated his bagel.

Sam sighed, scowling down at his plate. Maybe, if he didn’t hit it off with his new partner, he’d take Bucky up on it.

.-.-.-.

His new partner was wearing a _suit_.

“Ah, uh, interim partner,” the angel said, frowning at him.

“Steve never wore a _suit_ ,” Sam said, and he couldn’t help the fact that it came out as somewhat accusing. He felt like he couldn’t be faulted for it, though, because the suit was… it was doing wonderful things for the angel’s body, especially the way the slacks cupped his—

The angel, who had previously introduced himself as Tony, immediately looked sour-faced. “Steve never sat still long enough for one.”

Sam opened his mouth, then closed it again. Yeah, that sounded like Steve, actually. “Oh.”

“And I’m just your interim partner,” Tony continued, a tablet appearing out of thin air that he immediately began scrolling on. “Steve put in several names as possible partners for you. The problem is, all of them want to advance in their careers, too, and as you’ve shown no desire to move on yourself, we want to find a partner who will stay with you.”

“So you assigned me an interim partner to leave me,” Sam deadpanned.

Tony looked up at him in surprise, then let out a somewhat self-deprecating laugh. “Oh, don’t be fooled. I haven’t Shouldered in millennia, and I’m hard to get along with besides, so you’ll be _ecstatic_ to get rid of me by the time we’ve found a suitable partner.”

Sam shrugged, noncommittal. He’d heard about pairings that bickered so much that their human charges mostly ignored them, but he was more of the ‘sit down and talk it out’ type. Other demons told him that that wasn’t particularly normal for their kind, but Sam chalked it up to being another reason why he was not eaten by a more powerful demon in his adolescence. Some older demons just wanted to vent! Who knew! Sam did, and no one took him seriously about it.

“Also since I’m basically banned from interacting with humans, we’re not really going to be Shouldering anyway,” Tony continued, finally looking up from his tablet. “We’re just going to be assessing first-time Shoulderers. You’ve been doing this for centuries and you come highly recommended, so I figured you’d be okay with that?”

Sam frowned, crossing his arms as he considered the proposal. On one hand, he liked more hands-on work; he enjoyed actually helping humans. On the other hand, it might help him in his own work to see how other demons and angels worked together.

“You can definitely make fun of the other Shoulderers when we’re on break,” Tony added.

“Yes!” Sam exclaimed, pumping his fist, and then was nearly bowled over by Tony’s shy smile, as if pleased to have made him happy. “I mean. That sounds great, Tony, thank you,” he said, trying to be professional.

Tony shrugged, still smiling. “It’s nice to know that you enjoy your job,” he said honestly. “Anyway! I have to go give my replacement some information that I forgot when I left, so we’ll start tomorrow? I’ll send you some files about who we’ll be shadowing.”

“Sounds good,” Sam replied, reaching out to shake his hand. “Nice meeting you. I hope we work well together.”

“Well, I’ll certainly try to make it bearable,” Tony answered, amused, and then disappeared in a pleasant little ‘pop!’ like a soap bubble.

.-.-.-.

Bucky, of course, asked the important questions as soon as he got home. “Is he hot?”

“Yes,” Sam replied. “And he was wearing a suit.”

“Steve never wore a suit!” Bucky exclaimed, offended. “And with proportions like that, he would have _killed_ people he was so hot.”

Sam threw his hands up. “Right?!”

“I’m gonna kick his ass the next time I see him,” Bucky muttered.

Sam paused, then let his arms drop to his sides as he said, “Bucky, you can’t beat up everyone you find attractive.”

“Watch me,” the brunet replied.

Sam stared at him with all the disappointment he could muster before finally saying, “He’s small. He’s like, eight inches shorter than Steve.”

Bucky turned in his seat to give him his full attention, eyebrows raising in surprise. “Tiny and in a suit? Why. What does Heaven have against you.”

“Why do you think Heaven has something against me?” Sam asked, brows furrowing together in confusion.

“I mean, you cry over tuxedo kittens a lot,” Bucky reasoned.

“Only when I’m drunk,” Sam argued immediately.

Bucky rolled his eyes, turning back to the table to begin scribbling in his daily report again. “If you say so.”

“Anyway, he’s only an interim partner until they find someone suitable for me,” Sam explained, sitting down across from him. He pulled out his tablet and opened his email to find the files that Tony had sent over. “So I won’t actually have a human to Shoulder for until they find a permanent one. We’re just gonna be acting as auditors, I guess.”

“That’s not bad,” Bucky said thoughtfully. “Is it confidential? Or can you come home and tell me funny shit that’s happened?”

“I mean, I’m sure I can at least fudge enough details for plausible deniability,” Sam mused. “Besides, angels are insatiable gossips, so it would get out eventually anyway. Oh! And his butt looks like a peach.” Then he smiled smugly as Bucky spewed his coffee all over his paperwork and shouted at him because he had to redo all of it.

Bucky was always really nice to him in apology for yelling. _Really_ nice.

.-.-.-.

Working with Tony was a _delight_.

He was clearly good at his job, whatever it was, because he always made pithy comments and cracked jokes while they were auditing how other angels and demons Shouldered, but his official write-ups were clear, concise, and factual—Sam knew this, because apparently they had to sign off on each other’s reports to make sure they agreed with each other about how the job had gone. Sam had no idea why Tony thought he’d get tired of working with him, because even when they were silent, bent over taking their notes, Tony was good company, a long line of heat from knee to hip, because they had to be close if they wanted to compare their observations.

And the _suit_. Oh, the suit.

Tony still showed up in a perfectly fitted suit, and looked just as handsome as the first day, but as he grew more comfortable with Sam, he started taking pieces of it off. Sam actually whimpered when Tony unbuttoned and took off his suit jacket, vest snug around his trim waist. Then Tony started unbuttoning and rolling up his sleeves, which made the selfish part of Sam’s heart hiss when he noticed the angel and demon they were auditing had looked at his arms as well. One time, Tony even picked the laces on his loafers undone and kicked his shoes off. Fuck. Bucky loved the vulnerability of socked or bare feet. Tony was checking all of their boxes in a bed-mate.

“Do you want to come to my place for dinner?” Sam blurted out at the end of one of their auditing assignments. “Bucky wants to cook for you.”

“Oh!” Tony said, surprised, but then he was frowning, shoulders beginning to hunch up. “Um… I don’t… usually eat?”

“You don’t eat?” Sam repeated, bewildered, then paused, suddenly remembering all the times he, Bucky, and Steve had gone to the bar together and Steve had indulged in a heavenly mead but had never picked at the bowls of nuts or ordered a meal like they had. “Huh,” he said, surprised.

“But I _can_ eat!” Tony added hurriedly. “I just usually don’t because we don’t actually need to. But I can! Um, but I don’t like meat.”

Sam frowned in concern. “I don’t want you to put yourself out, Tony.”

“It’s not, I just—I forget, sometimes. That demons like to eat,” Tony admitted shyly, looking down at his feet and shuffling in place awkwardly. “I don’t really have a lot of friends. Only a couple of ‘em are demons, so it never occurs to me that you guys eat sometimes.”

“That’s adorable,” Sam told him seriously. “Is tofu okay?”

Tony looked up at him, blinking. “I can’t say I’ve had it, but as long as it’s not meat, I’ll try anything.”

“Tony, I just need you to know that Bucky will be absolutely disgusted that I’m making him prepare tofu, and telling him so will be the highlight of my day,” Sam said.

Tony opened his mouth, then closed it again. He looked vaguely concerned, but also a bit leery, like he didn’t know if it would be demonophobic to say anything about it. Sam did not tell him that almost every demon enjoyed making angels wonder this. “Okay,” he finally said, frowning.

“Great! I’ll text you about a half an hour before it’s ready? Will that work?” Sam asked.

“Sure,” Tony answered, nodding. “That’s good. Do I need to bring anything?”

“Just yourself and a smile,” Sam told him cheerfully.

Tony laughed, teasing, “Sounds like you want me to show up naked!”

Sam would absolutely love it if Tony showed up naked, and Bucky definitely wouldn’t complain, but he figured that might be coming on too strong. Instead, he said, “Bucky is very interested in seeing you in a suit. He doesn’t believe angels wear them.”

Tony blinked at him, then scowled, mulishly muttering, “I’m gonna kick Steve’s ass.”

“I know that feeling,” Sam assured him, and Tony’s lips quirked up into a smile again.

.-.-.-.

“S. Small,” Bucky said after Sam had shown Tony into their apartment.

Tony whipped around to glare at him, then paused awkwardly when he realized that Bucky easily had six inches on him and was built like a brickhouse. “…Big?” he answered nervously.

Bucky frowned at him and told him, very seriously, “You are small and pretty like a songbird.”

“I, uh,” Tony sputtered, eyes wide with shock. “Thank you?”

“I have cute aggression,” Bucky added, and then visibly forced himself to return to the kitchen. “Give me a minute. _Fucking brimstone and bats you’re so pretty_.”

Tony stared after him, unsure whether to be terrified or not, then looked up at Sam in concern. “Um?”

“He’s not usually this much of an instinctive garbage can,” Sam assured him. “I tried to warn him that you were attractive, but I guess I didn’t do you justice.”

“Rude. I’m fucking ethereal in my beauty,” Tony answered, more on instinct than anything else. Then he tilted his head in confusion. “Wait. Didn’t you say Bucky was your husband?”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, but like… I’ve got eyes.”

“What,” Tony said, and probably would have continued, except Bucky came stomping back out of the kitchen to approach him directly. “Uh.”

“Does your ass really look like a peach?” Bucky asked sternly.

Tony reached back to grab his butt, frowning up at him and brows furrowing together in concern. “Yes? I’ve been told? Eep,” he added when Bucky lifted his hands to cup his cheeks and pull him closer.

“I wanna eat it like one,” Bucky growled.

“Eep,” Tony squeaked again.

Bucky glared down into his eyes a moment longer before he let him go and turned to stomp back into the kitchen. “But after dinner. I made tofu edible and you’re gonna eat it.”

Tony gaped after him in a mixture of terror and confusion, still clutching his ass.

“Why don’t you have a seat,” Sam suggested, gently placing a hand between Tony’s wings and urging him toward the table.

“Your husband just said he wanted to eat my ass in front of you and you’re telling me to take a seat?!” Tony spluttered, but still allowed himself to be eased into one of the chairs.

Sam smiled a little. “Well, I mean. I’m kind of hoping that you’ll let me suck your dick while you ride his face, so it would be kind of hypocritical of me to be angry.” He hooked his hand under Tony’s arm so that he didn’t miss the chair as he yelped in surprise. “But if you’re not interested, we can just have a lovely dinner, and I won’t be offended if you don’t want to work with me anymore.”

Tony stared up at him, wide-eyed and silent.

Sam patted him on the shoulder and then began shuffling things around on the table so that it could fit all of the dishes Bucky was bringing out, unconcerned about the lack of answer. Tony had never been speechless before, but he figured that this time definitely warranted it, and he was honestly kind of looking forward to hearing how Tony would react.

Tony had actually had three bites of the stir-fry Bucky had made before he burst out, “What if I don’t even like having sex with male-presenting beings?”

“Then I will cry,” Bucky answered.

“He won’t,” Sam said hastily when Tony stared at him in affront. “Well, I mean, he’s an ass man so he might actually cry a little, but not to guilt you or anything.”

“Well,” Tony said mulishly. “I suppose my ass _is_ a treasure.”

Bucky held his hands up. “Just wanna cup each cheek and bury my face in ‘em.”

Tony gaped at him, still looking a little offended. That was normal, though—most people were put off by how earnest Bucky was about eating ass. Luckily, Sam was all for it, so it had never been a problem for them.

“Anyway, if you’re not down to fuck, we can just be friends,” Bucky added with a shrug. “We did it with Stevie. Although that asshole did yell at me for being forward when all I did was say I could bounce a quarter off his ass.”

“He yelled at you for _actually bouncing_ a quarter off his ass,” Sam corrected. “I think he was embarrassed that it bounced so far though.” He looked back at Tony with a shrug. “But no pressure. I like you as a friend and Bucky always likes feeding people so if you don’t want to do anything sexual, that’s fine.”

Tony ate some more stir-fry, then set his fork down. “I don’t really do… casual sex anymore. I am… Old.”

Sam and Bucky blinked at him in surprise. “How old are you?” Sam asked.

“I am Old with a capital ‘O,’” Tony corrected, and he looked pleased when they blanched.

“If you’re one of the angel elders why the fuck are you working with me I’m a baby compared to you,” Sam sputtered.

Tony immediately frowned at him again. “I told you. We wanted to find someone who was in Shouldering for the long haul. It’s why we can only audit other pairs—I’m too powerful for most humans to behold.”

“Can you really turn into a flaming ball of eyes?!” Bucky asked excitedly.

Tony’s frown deepened into a scowl. “Why?”

Bucky gave him his best bitch face. “Because that’s sexy, Tony, _obviously_.”

“I don’t have an ass to eat when I’m a flaming ball of eyes,” Tony told him, and then threw his hands up in despair when this only seemed to give him a moment of pause. “I don’t like being a flaming ball of eyes. It scares people and I don’t know how you think it can be sexy when my being can only be pierced by a more powerful angel or a devil’s horn, and that’s not exactly pleasurable, if you know what I mean.”

They didn’t, but they also didn’t tell him so, because telling Tony they had never flirted with someone Old seemed like a bad idea when they still very much wanted to pinion him to their bed for the rest of eternity.

“We don’t really do casual,” Sam cut in before Bucky blurted out that he’d figure out a way to make piercing him with his horns pleasurable or die trying, because he knew Bucky would, if given the chance. “Bucky’s got a possessive streak, so we’d definitely want to be exclusive.”

Tony stared at them for a very long time, thoughtful, before he frowned in confusion and asked, “He’s possessive _and_ has terrifying cute aggression? Who hates him,” and Bucky snorted his wine out his nose.

.-.-.-.

In the end, Tony had to turn them down, but only because he felt weird dating them while also technically acting as Sam’s superior. Made him feel like he was taking advantage somehow, he’d said.

So the minute Sam got paired with a new angel for Shouldering and waved Tony goodbye, he texted Bucky, and they were both waiting at Tony’s door by the time he got back from his office.

“You’re not wearing a suit,” Bucky said accusingly. “You’re even cuter now. I can’t handle this.”

Tony, clad in a well-worn pair of jeans and a human band t-shirt, blinked at him in complete bewilderment. “What?”

“Dressed down is good on you,” Sam explained, elbowing Bucky in the ribs. “I miss the vest a little, but you look slightly more approachable now. Less like I’ll be smote if I touch you.”

“Why would you be smote,” Tony asked him, still very obviously confused.

“…Don’t you smite people who touch you without permission?” Bucky asked, which was answer enough.

“WHY DO YOU THINK I WOULD SMITE SOMEONE FOR SOMETHING AS STUPID AS THAT WHEN THIS ISN’T EVEN MY TRUE FORM,” Tony bellowed, wings flying up in a threat display, but Bucky didn’t look perturbed by it, instead leaning around so he could get a better view of Tony’s ass in those jeans. Tony snapped his wings at them. “Don’t ogle me when I’m yelling at you!”

Bucky held his hands up placatingly. “Alright.”

“So now that we’re not working together, how about we go on a date?” Sam added, before Tony could continue to scold either of them.

Tony’s wings fell as he blinked up at them in surprise. “Huh?”

“You, us. A date. Show you we want commitment,” Sam explained. “We thought maybe you’d like to take a swing around the edge of the solar system and then maybe we could come back to one of ours for a snack? You don’t have to eat the snack of course, but Bucky and I enjoy eating.”

“…Well, I _do_ like seeing Pluto…” Tony mumbled shyly, peering up at them from under his lashes. “I guess that would be alright. Yeah, that sounds nice! What are you guys going to have for a snack? If it’s not meat, maybe I’ll try it too!”

Bucky opened his mouth, but Sam hurriedly slapped him with his own velvety bat-wing, sending the other demon skidding across the clouds with an offended squawk. “Bucky brought a cheesecake,” he said sweetly.

Tony frowned up at him, unimpressed. “Was he gonna say my ass? He was gonna say my ass, wasn’t he. I don’t put out on the first date.”

“What about the second?” Bucky called out to him as he stood up and dusted himself off.

“You’ll need to see if you earn a second one,” Tony informed him imperiously, and then looked up at Sam with a smile. “What kind of cheesecake? I’ve had that. I like it.”

“We brought a couple different toppings,” Sam said, smiling back at him. “You can have your pick.”

Tony’s feathers fluffed as he beamed up at him. Sam could only gape, because holy shit, he suddenly understood what Bucky had meant when he’d said, ‘you are small and pretty like a songbird.’ He just wanted to tuck Tony into their apartment and keep him happy and sated until the end of time.

“You see,” Bucky hissed as Tony stepped into his apartment to send off a couple emails before they left. “You see? I’m not just especially demonic you’ve just never actually found another person you wanted to keep like me. Our honeymoon wasn’t three decades long because of me, remember, it was because you didn’t want it to end and you wanted to make sure I smelled like you. You’re not in better control of yourself, you’re just pickier than I am.”

“Brimstone and bats,” Sam breathed, aghast, as he realized the truth in his words.

.-.-.-.

The date went so well that they got to learn that Tony put out on the second as long there was already a promise of a third.


End file.
